DATE: APRIL 15, 2015, THE WATCHER, NEW YORK, 12H05M

SIMULATION COMPLETED!

The danger room returned to its normal form, revealing four tired teens. This was the fourth simulation they did today, and they did not even stop for lunch yet.

Since they started working as a team, the young heroes have made more and more simulations each day, mostly thanks to Lynn's powers, that helped complete the missions faster. Dr. Pym said that if they keep progressing like this, soon he would take them on a real mission, just like their parents when they were part of the Ultimates.

"Good work, kids." The leader entered the danger room, carrying a clipboard. "You are progressing on a surprising level. It's almost like seeing your parentes again, only better."

"Wait, did you saw our parents in action?" Ronnie said as she caught her breath.

"Actually, I just watched recordings." He rubbed his chin, and was thoughtful. "Now that you mention it, it seems that with the exception of your mother, all the other Ultimates of that time seem to be a little out of shape now."

Everyone was silent, catching their breath and thinking about what he said. Although it was a bit annoying to hear this, it was a fact that Lynn and Roberto Sr. were a little overweight, and Rita was not as good as Mrs. Santiago, although she had literally five times more pregnancies than her former teammate.

However, before any of them could think of anything to say, a phone rang, and Leni received a notification, which panicked her.

"Lynn, we have to go. Like, now!"

The girl took her younger sister by the arm, and before the jock could say anything they flew out of the room. The leader was totally perplexed, and looked at the two remaining Avengers.

"May I know what's going on?"

At that moment, Marvel Boy's phone rings, and he notices what's happening.

"Mom's calling us all to help with Lori's apartment."

The scientist was immediately confused.

"Is your sister is moving? When did this happen?"

"Saturday." The boy put his cell phone in his pants pocket, which soon disappeared. "While we went to the game, she went to close deal on renting an apartment. Although she wanted to have her independence, our mother insisted so much that Lori accepted that she would pay for the furniture in the new house, and now she wants all of us there to help."

"And where will she move?"

"Greenwich Village, near Bleecker Street."

"Oh really? I know someone who lives there. In fact, we can say that is a strange neighborhood."

The scientist smiled slightly, although the kids did not understand why.


LATER, IN GREENWICH VILLAGE...


In front of a a modest apartment building, Lori Loud was excited. At any moment, her family would come along with her new furniture, ready to help her decorate the apartment. This was an incredible week for her, and it seemed like nothing would ruin it.

On Monday, her mother called her to talk, and eventually persuaded Lori to let her pay for the furniture in the apartment. Yesterday, she went to ask for a day off from her boss, Mr. Shaw, and he was so excited that she was moving that he gave her the rest of the week off. Today, her siblings were coming to help in the moving, finally supporting her decision to live alone.

Things would only be better if she could invite Bobby to dinner with her on Friday, but she had already promised to meet Luna's secret admirer. Although, that was not a total loss, since they could spend the whole Saturday together in the apartment. And who knows? Maybe she could convince him to spend the night with her.

Before she could go deeper into this thought, a black van pulled up in front of the residence, followed shortly by a small truck. The side door of the van opened, revealing ten smiling faces.

"Lori!" All the siblings said in chorus, running to her.

The girl did not have time to react, being soon trapped in a group hug. Everyone was wearing a light blue overalls with the initials "LL" written in dark blue on the back. As soon as the hug was over, she was shocked by an avalanche of questions until her mother stepped out of the van.

"Kids, give her some time!"

The matriarch was also wearing light blue overalls, although on her back was "RL".

Rita came and hugged her daughter, eyes red and about to start crying.

"I still can not believe my first little bird is leaving the nest."

Lori smiled, and hugged her mother even more.

She let herself go, until she realized someone was missing.

"Where is Dad?"

"Oh, sweetie, I'm really sorry." Rita broke the hug and looked sadly at Lori, looking straight into her eyes. "He locked himself in the lab last night and hung up his cell phone."

"That's fine, Mom." Lori smiled weakly, and put her hands on Rita's shoulders. "It's not like it's unusual for him to lock himself up at work and forget he had something to do."

Rita smiled, and turned to her other children.

"Very well kids, let's get started."

The kids saluted, and prepared to unload the small truck. Lori accompanied them to see what her mother had brought, and was shocked to see what was inside the truck.

In addition to some boxes with Lori's belongings and new stuff, Rita had brought furniture similar to the that used in the Loud Tower, though it was appropriate for a single woman living alone. There was a sofa like the three in the living room of the family's home, as well as an armchair of the same material. There was some furniture inside cardboard boxes, plus a refrigerator, a microwave, some cooking utensils, a television and even a mattress.

"I thought you might like to have some of your old home in the new one." Rita looked at Lori, eager to see her reaction.

Lori was speechless to see what her mother had brought, but most of all she was surprised that she had gotten so much in such a short time.

"Mom... how do you ..."

"It's not hard to get quality furniture if you know where to look." Rita smiled, blushing a little, and then whispered so that only Lori could hear. "Besides, I always have furniture ready for delivery in case any of you destroy the house."

The girl could not help to chuckle. Although a little embarrassing, they actually destroyed the house often, even without needing a supervillain to do that.

"I do not know what to say." Lori hugged her again, smiling even more than before. "You are literally the best mother in the world!"

"Do not overdo it, sweetie." Rita blushed, clearly embarrassed. "Now, we'd better get started."

Lori nodded, and took the keys to her apartment. Behind her, each of her siblings carried a box, with the matriarch at the end of the line. They climbed the stairs following the older sister, stopping in front of apartment number 11.

"Apartment 11?" Luan chuckled, amused by the number on the door. "That's so convenient, I will not waste any time thinking about a pun."

Everyone smiled happily. Not for the irony of the apartment number, but for Luan not making one of her lousy jokes.

Lori opened the door to the modest apartment, allowing her siblings to see her new home. The space was ample, allowing to see the beautiful wooden floor, as well as the beautiful light blue wallpaper. Not far from the door was a beautiful island, which stood in front of the small kitchen area, which just as the rest was empty. At the back of the huge room were three doors leading to the bedrooms and the bathroom.

As much as they were still a little sad that she was moving, the siblings could not help admitting that the place was beautiful even without being furnished. They went to the center of the apartment and began to put the boxes they were carrying there, so they could organize themselves.

"Okay, I think we can start now!" Lori clapped her hands and cheered, beginning to wonder where everything would go.

"Not so fast." Luna faced her, smiling smugly. "You can not start until you're properly prepared."

Lori was confused, but then she understood what she meant by seeing that Lily was carrying another blue overalls, the size of her.

She promptly took the clothes, and was amazed at the work.

"You're literally right." Lori pulled the overalls over her clothes and zipped them closed. "You did that, Leni?"

"Actually, I kinda asked Lynn to help me." The fashionista blushed, smiling sheepishly. "I cut the fabric and she sewed it for me."

"Are you serious?" Lori looked from one to the other, a little incredulous.

"It was not a big deal." Lynn blushed too, and tried to pretend to be cool. "It only took me half hour to sew it all, so I can not say it was a challenge."

Lori smiled again, but then looked at her sisters, and saw that someone was missing.

"Wait, where's Lola?"

The siblings looked around in confusion. Before they could say anything, the girl entered the apartment, carrying the sofa over her head.

They all stared at her in disbelief, clearly surprised to see Lola acting so out of character.

"What?" She looked at them with a mixture of confusion and irritation. "The sooner we get this over, the sooner I can get my dress back on."

They could not help laughing at Lola's attitude, making the girl blush.

Leaving aside any other question, most of the siblings started to get the other boxes, while Lynn helped Lola carry the refrigerator, stove, and heavier boxes. In less than half an hour, everything was already inside the apartment, so Rita dismissed the driver of the truck, giving him a generous tip.

As soon as the family matriarch returned to the apartment, they closed the doors and began to unpack everything. After deciding what to do with each thing, they divided the tasks and started working.

Lana, with a little help from Lola, set the refrigerator and stove in their proper places. She also installed the microwave in a compartment on the island, in addition to locating the perfect places to put the blender and the coffee machine. In addition, she decided to check the bathroom plumbing, just in case.

Luna, Luan, and Lisa teamed up to set up Lori's wardrobe, so Lisa checked the assembly instructions as they followed in the footsteps. Like them, Leni, Lynn and Lincoln set up a spacious rack where they would put the television, the DVD player and a some other things.

Lori smiled happily as she put some pictures on the walls. In frames of various colors, there were pictures that had previously decorated her room in the Loud Tower, depicting happy moments of her life. There were pictures of her with her siblings, photos of Bobby, all the Loud sisters with Ronnie Anne, photos of both families together and, in a prominent place in the living room, a large frame with a photo that the siblings had taken for their parents' anniversary.

Rita took a ladder to put some shelves on the walls, while Lucy set the cutlery and crockery in the kitchen cupboards. Even Lily helped, sticking multicolored anti-slip stickers in the tub.

As they were finishing their parts, they appreciated the work already done, waiting for the moment to come together for the final task. As soon as they were all finished, they went to Lori's room, helping to store the clothes and accessories in the wardrobe.

If there was something Lori would surely miss from the Loud Tower, it was her closet. The closet alone was the size of her bedroom in the apartment, so she could only separate a part of her clothes. As they separated the clothes, it became clear that even with the size of the wardrobe, there would still be no room for everything.

A After they finished with that part, they put all the clothes that did not fit in the wardrobe back into the boxes, and then put them in the empty room. After cleaning the apartment, they sprawled in the living room, ready for a well-deserved rest.

Lori saw how much her family seemed to need a break, and she had an idea.

"So who wants pizza?" She asked, putting her hand in the pocket of her overalls. "My treat."

Before she could pick up the cell phone, a dozen hands were raised, though no voice was heard. Smiling, the young woman dialed the pizzeria number, ordering four family sized pizzas and three bottles of soda.

In less than thirty minutes the doorbell rang, and Lori opened the door to pay for the pizza. With the help of her mother, she took the pizzas to the island, and soon everyone gathered around the food.

With voracity usually seen only in wild animals, they attacked the pizzas, leaving only the empty boxes left.

As soon as the pizza was over, Lori realized that an uneasy silence was spreading through the apartment. Despite all the excitement they showed when they arrived, it was obvious that her siblings were sad that she was going to live in another house.

"Guys, did you know that you do not have to read minds to know that something is happening?" She folded her arms and smiled motherly, looking at her siblings. "If you want to tell me something, then say so."

Everyone looked at each other, trying to see who was going to speak. All eyes were on Lincoln.

"Really?" The boy sighed in defeat, and stood. "Look, it's not that we're not happy you're getting on with your life, but it's really hard for us."

"He's right, dude." Luna stood too, and stood beside Lincoln. "You're not just the our older sister, you're our best and oldest friend."

Lynn rose as well, seeming to be about to cry.

"As long as I remember, you were always there for us, even when our parents could not." Lynn looked sadly at Lori, but then she realized what she had said and turned to face the family matriarch. "No offense, Mom."

Rita just smiled. She knew this was a special moment for her children, and she did not want to interrupt.

Leni also got up, already starting to cry.

"Lori, I..."

The fashionista could not bear it any longer, and threw herself at her sister, hugging her with all her might. Soon after, all the siblings also began to cry, and joined in a big group hug. They were so excited they did not even realize that Rita was filming everything with her cell phone, recording the moment.

Lori could not bear such a show of affection, and she also began to cry. The excitement was such that she could not help but read the thoughts of her siblings, all of them reminiscing good times with their older sister.

"(Sniff) Guys, you're literally the best siblings in the world." Lori broke the hug, making everyone look into her eyes. "I know things will be different from now on, but I will never stop loving you. Besides, I live less than half an hour from the tower, so you can come visit me whenever you want. As long as you call me before, of course."

The siblings rejoiced, and stopped crying.

Rita could not contain her tears when she saw the scene in front of her, but she also knew that this could not last forever. Wiping away her tears, she moved closer and caught the attention of her children.

"Okay, kids, it's getting late, and your sister still has a lot to do tomorrow." She tried to speak with authority, but her voice was weak and hesitant. " It's time to say goodbye to your sister and go to the car."

Still hesitating, the siblings hugged her again, then left the apartment. Lori went down with them to the van, then made a last group hug. Before she got into the van, Leni hugged her one more time, still with tears in her eyes.

"Do not forget to go early on Friday. We all have to be there when Luna's friend comes."

"I literally will."

As soon as Leni got in the car, Rita approached Lori.

She was going through an unprecedented moment in her life, feeling a mixture of pride and sadness. She was proud Lori was growing up, but she was deeply saddened that her daughter was going to another home. With all her might, she gave Lori a hug, as if that was the last time she will see her daughter.

"Lori, I have no words to describe what I'm feeling right now."

"That's ok, Mom." Lori smiled, her eyes starting to water. "It's going to be strange at first, but I'm a strong woman, and I know I'm going to be good." She made the hug even more tighter, crying again. "After all, I learned from the best."

Mother and daughter broke the embrace, looking into each other's eyes. Rita wiped her tears and smiled at Lori.

"Be careful. And do not forget to call when you need something. And if you have any annoying neighbors..."

"Mom, I'll be fine." Lori wiped her tears, and smiled smugly. "Do not forget that you still will go through this more ten times."

Rita could not help a muffled chuckle, despite the seriousness of the matter. She hugged Lori one more time, giving the girl a kiss on the forehead.

"See you later, Lori."

"Goodbye, Mom. (Sniff ) I love you."

After hugging one more time, the matriarch returned to the van, starting the engine.

Slowly, the car started to leave, with several hands waving at Lori. Even after the van disappeared from her field of vision, Lori continued to stare, already beginning to miss her family. She turned at last, returning to her new home. As her mother had said, there was still much to be done.

As soon as she returned to her apartment, she locked the door and sighed, deciding what to do first.

She started cleaning up the mess her family had made on the island, where there was three slices of pizza and some soda in a bottle. She threw the pizza boxes into the bin and put the leftovers into a bowl in the fridge. Closing the refrigerator, she realized what her mother meant when she said she had a lot to do tomorrow.

Now that the apartment was comfortable and with the furniture and appliances, she still needed to go to the grocery store to buy supplies. She started thinking that it would be good to have a car, but at the moment she could not afford such an expense, and she certainly could not ask her parents.

Not that they could not afford it, after all they were very rich. The question was her independence, and an independent woman like her does not need her parents' money.

Lori lay down on her couch, ready to enjoy her first night being officially an independent woman. She was happy to finally be the one who dictated the rules of the house, but it did not look like fun. She missed the noise and laughter of her siblings, but she knew she had to get over it. It was not like she was ever going to see her family again.

BRRIIINNNGGG!

The girl was confused. Who could be ringing at that hour? Was it some of the new neighbors?

She got up and answered the door, getting instantly frozen.

In front of her new apartment was a tall man in a tuxedo, whose face was exactly like Dr. Pym, but with black hair and a few scars on his face. He had one arm behind his back, as if he were hiding something. But what surprised her most was the person accompanying the man.

Beside him was her co-worker, Carol Pingrey, in a white suit, as if she were paying a formal visit.

"Miss Loud! I'm glad to meet you at home." He smiled and held out his arm, revealing a bouquet of flowers. "Sorry to bother you, but we have important matters to deal with."

Lori was totally puzzled, not knowing what to think.

Carol took a step forward, and smiled.

"Do not worry, Lori. This is going to end soon."


TO BE CONTINUED...


Next week: Masters of Evil 4.